Vegan tote bags are a practical choice if you need a bag that will fit all your essentials. The best vegan tote bags fit everything you need, whether that’s your laptop, your beach gear or your baby’s food and diapers.
As a lifelong vegetarian and long-term vegan since 2008, I know how tricky it can be to find a vegan leather work bag or vegan bag for other occasions. That’s why I put this list together years ago and update it frequently with the best vegan tote bags I’ve found.
The best vegan tote bags:
High-quality, durable vegan bags made in Spain and designed in classic styles.
Labante vegan tote bags
Best for: vegan work bags
My top pick: Sophie vegan leather tote bag
Labante London is a sustainable vegan bag company. Their range of vegan leather tote bags is full of timeless pieces that will stay in style for years, but my top pick is the Sophie black vegan leather tote.
If you’re looking for vegan tote bags for work, the Sophie vegan black tote bag is elegant and will match any work outfit. This black faux leather tote bag with zipper even comes with a matching black pouch to help you stay organised. It’s the perfect bag for day-to-night.
The vegan black tote fits a 14-inch laptop and closes with a zipper. If you’re looking for more vegan laptop tote bag options, check out my guide to vegan laptop bags.
Svala vegan tote bags
My pick: Simma tote
This vegan leather black tote from Svala is perfect for play and work, and will fit your 13-inch laptop. It also has a smartphone pocket inside. It has a magnetic closure and the lining is made of organic cotton and polyester made with plastic bottles.
This Svala bag comes in versions made of several different materials – vegan PU leather, vegan pineapple leather or Mirum, a new vegan, plastic-free, eco-friendly leather.
Mirum is a new, innovative and sustainable fabric made of plant-based materials. Unlike other vegan leathers, it’s plastic-free and is even compostable. At the end of its life cycle, it can be made into new Mirum.
Mirum is a bio-based product, and can be made of a number of different materials based on each company’s specifications, for example plant-based oil, cork and natural rubber. Mirum doesn’t use up any water during the manufacturing process, and has a low carbon footprint.
Watson and Wolfe vegan tote bags
My top pick: Maddox tote
Watson & Wolfe makes the best faux leather tote bags in quintessential styles. Vegan leather bags in classic styles are their specialty.
My top pick is their Maddox vegan leather tote in black & cobalt. Made of high quality materials, it’s also big enough to fit your water bottle as well as your daily essentials. This large vegan leather tote will fit everything you need – in fact, it’s spacious enough you could even use it as a weekend travel bag! (I also have a full guide to vegan weekend bags & vegan luggage.)
The Maddox is made with premium vegan Italian leather, and vegan leather handles. The inside is lined in cobalt blue and contains a zippered pocket. There’s an exterior slip pocket and three popper buttons to adjust the opening of the bag. It fits a 15 inch laptop. This black vegan tote also has feet on the base.
Matt and Nat vegan bags
Matt and Nat is one of the biggest and best-known bag brands and the Matt and Nat tote bag vegan collection is fairly extensive.
Looking for a vegan leather tote bag with zipper? My top pick is the Matt and Nat Abbi tote bag. This vegan leather tote with zipper is practical, with an interior zippered pocket and an additional interior pocket for your phone.
Stella McCartney vegan tote bags
Best for: luxury vegan bags
Stella McCartney is a vegetarian designer and so she doesn’t use any leather or fur in her designs; however she does use wool and silk so not everything in her range is vegan. Her bags and shoes, however, are all vegan.
The Falabella tote bag has now become a designer classic since launching a few years ago, having become a favorite of many celebrities. It features a press stud fastening and top handles, plus a slip pocket, and its signature silver chain.
As well as the classic Falabella tote, you can find variations such as the Falabella maxi tote, fold-over tote and raffia tote. I found my Stella tote on eBay, which was a stroke of luck. It’s the perfect size for carrying everything I need around!
If you’re looking for more designer bags, see my guide to vegan designer bags.
Canussa vegan tote bags
My top pick: City Shopper large vegan tote
Canussa’s faux leather tote handbags are made of high-quality vegan leather and made in Spain. Their classic, minimalist style mean they’ll work with any outfit and you can use them for years to come.
My top pick is the City Shopper vegan leather tote handbag. I love mine and find it’s smart enough for work meetings, yet is also really practical – the rear strap attaches to luggage handles, and it’s big enough to be a weekend bag.
GUNAS vegan totes
My top pick: TIPPI vegan tote purse
GUNAS has been making vegan bags since 2009, and they have a wide range of styles, including ethical tote bags. These are the best vegan totes if you’re looking for a colorful bag.
If you need a vegan leather tote bag for work, my top pick is the TIPPI, a vegan laptop tote that can hold up to a 15-inch laptop, and which is also one of their best sellers. From work to happy hour, this vegan tote handbag is perfect for everyday use.
The bag comes in a number of different hues, perfect for adding a pop of color to outfits, and since the tassel is detachable you can use it as a vegan work tote.
This vegan leather bag for work has a zippered top and an internal slip pocket you can use to store money or other items.
JW Pei vegan tote bags
JW Pei makes affordable vegan bags and has one of the biggest ranges I’ve come across. Whether you’re looking for a crossbody bag, a satchel or of course a tote, they’ve got it all.
Mashu vegan tote bags
My top pick: Mashu Cassiopeia
If you’re looking for a designer vegan totebag, Mashu makes unique designs with eco friendly materials in Greece.
These are the best vegan tote to stand out, with their unique handles. Some of Mashu’s bags feature square wooden handles, while the Cassiopeia features their signature hammered gold-toned hardware handle, in an irregular shape inspired by nature.
The Cassiopeia is half cork (a very sustainable material) and half vegan cactus leather, an innovative and sustainable vegan leather alternative made from the leaves of the Nopal cactus. The interior is made of polyester made from recycled plastic bottles.
Corkor vegan tote bags
Looking for vegan tote bags with zipper? The Corkor satchel is a vegan tote bag with zipper made from cork, an eco-friendly material for bags.
It has a laptop compartment, so it’s perfect if you need a vegan laptop bag. The vegan leather laptop bag has multiple pockets, protective feet and wider straps for comfort.
von Holzhausen vegan tote bags
My pick: Vegan shopper tote
I love von Holzhausen for sturdy, practical vegan bags. My friend has one of their crossbodies and it’s clear how well-made and durable it is.
The brand was actually founded with the idea of disrupting the leather industry by creating vegan leather that’s better and more durable than animal leather, and their bags are made of their own vegan leather.
Looking for vegan shopping bags? My top pick is the vegan leather shopper tote, which has plenty of space for everything you might want to tote with you.
It’s made of vegan Technik-leather, which is lightweight, soft, stain- and water-resistant and biodegradable.
The shopper tote even fits a laptop up to 15 inches if you want to use it as a vegan leather computer bag.
FAQ
Are tote bags good for the environment?
Lots of people use tote bags or canvas bags for food shopping and wonder if they’re actually better than plastic bags (which you now need to pay for in some locations).
The truth is that it’s complicated, because cotton bags take more resources to produce, and may need to be used hundreds or thousands of times to more eco-friendly than plastic – but they don’t contribute to the plastic pollution problem in waterways like plastic bags do.
The best bag to use is one you already have, so don’t buy a bag specifically for shopping unless secondhand, and be sure to use the bags you have as long as possible, and recycle any plastic bags that you can’t use any more.
What’s a tote bag used for?
Tote bags can be used for work, as a weekend bag or diaper bag, or as a beach bag, since they tend to be large and roomy and have lots of space to store your things.
A vegan leather work tote should ideally also have a laptop compartment.
If you’re worried about pickpockets, be sure to get one with a zippered top, and be mindful of the fact that a heavy bag carried on one shoulder isn’t great for your back so shouldn’t be carried frequently or for long time periods. You’re better off with a backpack in those cases.
If you need a bag for shopping, canvas totes are the best option and it’s likely you have some in your closet already that you may have been gifted at events. If not, you can even get custom tote bags printed with the slogan of your choice, or your business logo if you run a business.
What are tote bags and can they be used for school?
A tote bag is a bag, usually rectangular in shape, with two parallel handles that emerge from inside the bag.
They tend to be medium to large in size and are often unfastened on top, although many come with zippers or snap closures.
They are useful for carrying many things as they tend to be quite large, and are often used to carry a laptop or even as a weekend bag.
They can certainly be used for school, but be mindful that when carried for long amounts of time with heavy loads, they aren’t good for your back and can cause back, neck and shoulder pain.
So if you have to carry a lot of books for school you’re much better off with a backpack, which will distribute the weight more evenly and won’t hurt you.
What’s a vegan bag?
Simply put, a vegan bag is made without the use of any animal products like leather. Some bags are naturally vegan, such as canvas tote bags, and some are intentionally made vegan, like those made with vegan leather.
What are vegan bags made out of ?
Vegan bags can be made from a huge range of materials — cotton, cork, jute or vegan leather, whether that’s polyurethane or apple leather.
Are vegan bags eco-friendly?
They can be and often are! While in the past many vegan shoes and bags were made with PVC or polyvinyl chloride, which is very detrimental to the environment (Greenpeace called it a “poison plastic”), and should be avoided, that is rarely used nowadays.
The good news is most manufacturers these days use alternative materials that are more eco-friendly, including sustainable options in the list above. These sustainable materials include natural materials like cork, or plant-based leathers such as cactus leather or grape leather, made with leftover waste from the wine industry. Even synthetic materials like PU (or polyurethane) vegan leather is more sustainable than animal leather.
Rothys makes their bags from recycled plastic, thereby preventing it from ending up in the ocean. Other manufacturers use polyurethane, which is a plastic, but is ranked as more eco-friendly than leather on the Higgs index.
However, if you want a really eco-friendly option, then I recommend cork!
How to choose a tote bag?
First of all, know what you need the new bag for and when. If it’s your first order on a website, for example, and you need the bag for an event at the weekend, how many days of delivery are expected? Will it ship the next business day?
If you don’t need the bag right away, you don’t need to think about this as much. How big of a bag do you need? Will it need to fit your laptop and therefore does it need a padded laptop compartment?
Where do you plan to use it? Is it for work, school or more formal events? All these factors will influence your search and therefore your selection results.
Are vegan bags expensive?
Vegan bags come in a wide range of price points, from Stella McCartney at the high end to JW Pei’s affordable vegan bag collection to midrange options like Urban Expressions.
If you’re on a very tight budget then I recommend looking secondhand, either at a charity shop near you or online on eBay or a secondhand app.
A bonus is that as well as being good for the wallet, shopping secondhand is a sustainable alternative – by purchasing an already existing product, you’re reducing demand for the creation of new goods, which always takes up more resources.
And in today’s fast fashion dominated apparel industry, that’s a great thing, and an alternative to the seemingly endless creation of new goods inspired by fast fashion.
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Looking for more vegan bags? See my full guide to vegan handbags.
Trying to find a laptop bag, specifically? Find my list of vegan laptop bags and vegan briefcases. I also have a guide to vegan messenger bags, including messenger bags with laptop compartments.
I also have a guide to vegan crossbody bags, vegan leather shoulder bags, vegan clutches, vegan satchels and vegan bucket bags.
Prefer a backpack? Check out my guide to vegan backpacks.
Find all my vegan beauty & fashion guides.
